Bank holidays are dangerous things. All that time off work, perhaps mixed with a small amount of alcohol, creates a fertile breeding ground for the kind of plan that strikes you with equal amounts of fear and excitement when you wake up in the morning. It must have been a good weekend because I seem to have agreed to three such plans over the bank
holiday.
On Friday night, after swimming in a 2-person vs 20-person 20-metre relay, I was discussing how I would like to up my game and try some proper long distance swimming. The next morning I received a text from a friend: would you like to swim the Gibraltar Strait next year? It was fate. How could I refuse?
On Saturday night I was full of excitement at swimming from Europe to Africa. And then on Sunday morning another friend messaged me: do
you fancy doing a two-person English Channel relay? What perfect training for Gibraltar. Or maybe the other way around. Either way, in for a penny, in for a pound...
Monday night, as I was lying in bed about to go to sleep, my phone beeped. A video from a friend about swimming 10 miles up the Grand Canyon. 'You could swim it,' he said, 'while I kayak for you.' Maybe it was the after-effects of that evening's espresso martinis, but I couldn't help but agree that it
sounded an amazing adventure.
Why do we do it? It is a question I often ask myself, spending as much time as I do reading, writing and editing stories about swimming outdoors. Whether it is a hit of adrenaline, the challenge of achieving a difficult goal, the sense of reconnection with nature, or the feeling of contentment of existing solely in the present, swimming outdoors can enrich our lives in many ways. And whether your challenge is a two-way Loch Lomond or your
first mile in the open water, please keep sending us the stories of your swims. They all make inspiring reading.
Enjoy the newsletter and happy swimming.
Jonathan Cowie
Editor, H2Open Magazine
